Link of the Gods
by luciusbraun
Summary: Percy Jackson's day began normal. everything was as it should be, until a mysterious wolf wanders into the camp and Percy finds himself thrust into one of the biggest adventures of his life. In order to save the world (Again), he must team up with some of the people who hate Camp Half-Blood the most: Camp Asgard, home to the children of the Norse gods.
1. Whistle in the Woods

_**Hey guys, Lucius here. So, I did not write this story, but a friend mine does not have a FanFiction account, so I talked her into posting it on here. Hope you all enjoy. So, without further ado, I introduce a story, by Serena S. More chapters will be added soon!**_

Percy Jackson's day started out normal enough. He woke up, said good morning to Tyson, polished Riptide, his sword, and got dressed. After that, he walked up to the eating pavilion and said hi to the other campers. Everything seemed normal enough.

"Hey Percy," Annabeth Chase called from the Athena table, "How'd ya sleep last night?" She brushed a strand of curly blond hair out of her face, shooting Percy a winning smile.

"Eh, it could have been better," he said to her. Percy gratefully accepted a plate of pancakes from a wind spirit waitress. "How did you sleep?"

"Horribly!" Another one of the Athena campers said. "She snored all night long and talked in her sleep. I would rather stay in the Ares cabin than in the same cabin as Annabeth."

"Shut up," Annabeth giggles, playfully shoving one of her half brothers. He laughed and shoved her back.

"Siblings," she said to Percy. "They annoy the heck out of you, and you still can't help but love 'em."

Percy smiled. "Well," he said, "I can't really relate to that very well since I'm the one annoying the heck out of Tyson, but I get where you're coming from."

He turned and walked over to his table, the Poseidon one, and sat down next to his Cyclops brother, Tyson.

"This food is yummy," Tyson said to Percy.

"It is," Percy agreed, "It's very yummy."

Tyson went silent then, and went back to stuffing his face with muffins. Percy watched him for a moment, marveling at how much the Cyclops boy could eat. It's like his stomach is a bottomless pit, he thought.

Percy took a bite of his own food. "I love it here at Camp Half-Blood," he said unexpectedly. "I can't wait until tonight."

"Why?" Asked Tyson.

Percy laughed. "You seriously don't know? Chiron is hosting a dance party, plus an epic rap battle! We all know that the Apollo cabin is going to win, but it will still be fun."

"Fun," agreed Tyson.

The brothers sat in silence for a few minutes, until Percy's normal morning was turned upside down.

One of the kids from the Hermes cabin suddenly jumped up from the table and exclaimed, "Oh my word! You guys, look down there!"

Everybody turned to see where the girl was pointing. What he saw completely stunned Percy.

Down at the bottom of the hill where the eating pavilion sat, a huge hellhound was playing in the grass. Now, everybody knew that the hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary, was part of Camp Half-Blood. She had been here for years, so she wasnt the surprise. It was what she was playing with that was so shocking.

It was a wolf. A huge, silver wolf about as big as mini van, was romping around with Mrs. O'Leary, wagging it's tail and barking playfully.

To matters even more weird, the silver wolf had armor on. There was a shiny metal helmet fit snugly around the wolf's ears and went halfway down its snout; another piece that wrapped around its stomach and back, and extended all the way to the tip of the wolf's tail; and even four smaller pieces of armor that went on the wolf's legs.

Mrs. O'Leary seemed happy enough. Although she was twice the size of the wolf, they were enjoying a high-spirited game of tag. The wolf, despite the fact that it was wearing armor, was faster, but Mrs. O'Leary was stronger, so they were pretty evenly matched.

"What in the name of Hades's coffin is that?" Nico D'Angelo, the only kid at the Hades table, asked.

"I have no idea," answered Chiron, "But I'm fairly certain that it is a wolf."

"Don't forget that it is wearing armor," Annabeth added. She walked over to the edge of the pavilion for a closer look. "Should we go down to it?"

"I don't think that that would be such a good id-" Chiron began, but it was too late. Half of the campers were already half way down the hill.

Percy reached the bottom of it first. He walked slowly over towards the wolf, which ignored him and continued to romp around with Mrs. O'Leary.

"Hey puppy," he said, "What's your name?"

"Uh, Percy," Annabeth said, moving in beside him, "I don't think that it can talk."

"I'm just trying to get it to know that I'm friendly," Percy replied. "Hello, boy," He continued, "How did you get here? Do you have an owner?"

The other campers formed a safe circle around them at a very safe distance. "It looks slightly dangerous!" An Aphrodite kid called out. "Don't risk it, you guys! You have a lot left to live for."

Percy and Annabeth ignored him.

Percy inched in a little closer. "Can I see your collar?" He asked. "Do you even have a collar?"

The wolf continued to play. "I can distract it while you get a closer look," Annabeth volunteered.

"I'll help, too," Nico said. He came up to them. "I can shadow travel quickly, so if anything goes wrong, I'll be safe."

Percy hesitated, but knew that it was a good idea. "OK," he said, "Annabeth and Nico, you guys distract it."

The two of them inched closer to the wolf and started to talk loudly to it as Percy ducked under Mrs. O'Leary.

The wolf cocked its head, staring at this strange boy and girl. It did not even notice the other boy, the one that was now right next to it.

Percy found a collar, and scanned it as best as he could. It did not help that the wolf kept on moving around.

He only caught a few words at a time, but finally, he read the whole sentence on the collar's nametag. Then he re-read it. "Holy Zeus's thunderbolt!" Percy whispered in amazement. He backed away and signaled to Nico and Annabeth that they could stop now.

They all walked back to the other campers, who were almost dying from the suspense. Annabeth wanted to know, too.

"Well," she demanded, "What did it say, Percy?"

But Percy's head was still spinning from the discovery that he had just made, so he couldn't speak.

Clarisse LaRue, Ares cabin, marched forwards and grabbed the front of Percy's shirt. "Spill it, fish boy!" She told him.

Percy jerked back, but for once, he was too shocked by what he had just seen to be mad. "Give me a break, Clarisse," he snapped, "I'm just trying to get my thoughts together."

"Well you had better get them together, if you know what's healthy for you!"

Chiron stepped in between them. "Now you two," he said sternly, "No arguing. Percy, would you mind telling us what the collar said? Maybe right now; that would be nice."

"Fine," Percy said. He took a deep breath. Everyone waited in anticipation for him to speak.

"The words were kind of hard to make out, so I could be wrong. But if I'm right, then they said, 'Nightshade, Cabin Four, Property of Camp Asgard. Warrior Wolf Number 9. If misbehaving, please speak to the current leader of Cabin Four.'"

There was a long silence.

Nobody spoke. This was big; bigger than discovering Camp Jupiter. If there was another camp, with different gods, than that could mean many things. Some good, some bad.

Finally, Clarisse broke the quiet. "What is an Asgard?" She asked.

Annabeth, jumped, startled out of her thoughts. "Uh, it's kind of like Mount Olympus, except it's for the Norse gods," she said. "It could mean that there is a Norse camp somewhere out there."

"Are-are they bad?" Asked a quiet seven-year-old from the Demeter cabin.

"I don't know, my dear," Chiron said somberly. "From what I have heard about the Norse gods, they were actually quite friendly. But we should still be on our guard." He turned to some of the other campers. "Go and Iris-message Camp Jupiter and ask them if they know anything about this. Percy, I need you to check our weapon inventory. If, indeed, this Camp Asgard is an enemy to us, we should be ready for a battle."

"What about the wolf?" Percy asked.

Chiron scrutinized it. "It seems gentle enough," he said, "And Mrs. O'Leary is here, and so I don't think that it could do us any harm."

Everybody set off to do their assigned tasks, the excitement over the wolf slowly vanishing as the urgency of their situation set in. But before anybody had taken two steps, they all heard a strange sound coming from the West Forest, a forest that was just out of the camp's borderline.

It was a whistle. Two whistles, actually, but they were both blowing the exact same notes. One long note, two short ones, then one lone note again.

"What the" Percy muttered.

The wolf stopped playing, sniffing the air and pricking its ears towards the sound. It barked, then, as the whistles still continued, sat back and tilted its head towards the sky. The wolf howled; a deep, loud howl that seemed to come from a much bigger wolf.

The campers winced and covered their ears as the howl split the air.

"What is it doing?" Percy yelled to Annabeth.

"I don't know!" She hollered back over the noise. "What do I look like? Some kind of animal behavioral scientist? How should I know?"

Just as suddenly as it had started, however, the wolf stopped howling and listened. The campers uncovered their ears.

The whistles had also gone silent, then they were being blown again, except in a different pattern. This time it was one short, one long, one short, one long, one short, one long, and so on.

"It's signaling somebody," Annabeth breathed. "This isn't good."

Then there was a horrible shrieking, hissing noise, and everybody jumped in fear at the sound of it. The whistles stopped for a minute, and then continued again. However, this time they could only hear one whistle.

It was faster and more urgent, and it kept on stopping. It sounded jerky, as if whoever was blowing it was running out of breath.

The wolf whimpered. It barked again and again, until Percy was afraid its vocal cords would snap. It tilted its ears towards the whistling.

Suddenly, the wolf started to trot in the direction of the noise.

Annabeth, Percy, and Nico exchanged glances. "Let's follow it," they said at the same time. Chiron looked like he about to object, but Clarisse and Will Solace from the Hermes cabin came up, holding their weapons.

"You'll need some help," Clarisse said. "And a medic, just in case," Will added.

Chiron sighed. "What can I say," he said, "You're all growing up so fast. Very well, you had better start following it."

"Thanks," said Percy, "Come on you guys; we have a wolf to catch up with."

\--

The wolf (Also known as Nightshade, if Percy had read everything correctly) didn't seem to mind the extra company at its heels; indeed, it almost seemed to be glad that it had some help. Nightshade picked up his pace a little bit once they all reached the camp's borderline.

The whistling was much fainter now.

"Looks like somebody is running out of oxygen," Clarisse grunted.

Will looked worried. "I wonder what happened to the other whistle," he said.

Percy felt sick inside. He wished that he had just stayed in bed this morning.

Nightshade didn't hesitate to walk into the forest. He looked back over his shoulder at the others, almost as if he was asking them to keep up.

They followed him, keeping on the lookout for monsters.

Percy, who was right behind the giant wolf, pushed back branches and jumped over rocks. The trail was steep and difficult to navigate through. Nevertheless, he bravely pressed on. If Annabeth wasn't complaining, neither would he.

Soon, though, the shaky whistling stopped. Nightshade halted too, and everybody tripped all over themselves trying not to crash into him.

Clarisse cursed. "What just happened?" She demanded to know.

"We sorta stopped," Nico told her.

"I know that you idiot, but why did we stop is what I am trying to say!"

"Shh," said Will, holding his hand in the air for silence. "Listen."

Everybody listened, and of course, they heard nothing

"What are we listening for?" Annabeth whispered.

"I don't know, a moan of pain or a scream. If we argue, than we might miss- oh, wait, he's moving again."

Nightshade has his nose pressed to the ground as he hurried on forwards. Everybody groaned, but they walked right behind him.

The wolf sniffed the forest floor, searching for a scent that could lead him to whatever he was searching for.

Every once in a while, he would stop and lift his head to sniff the air. It was slow going, with the wolf stopping all the time, but finally, he barked excitedly and took off running.

"YES!" Annabeth exclaimed. Now they were actually getting somewhere.

About ten minutes later, they arrived upon a horrible sight.

In a small clearing filled with boulders, the half-eaten carcass of a hellhound was twisted around a fallen tree. There was blood everywhere, and not all of it was from the hellhound.

There was a sickening scent in the air, the scent of rotting things and death. A mangled sword and shield, covered in bright red blood, lay on the ground next to figure, which wasnt moving.

Percy gasped, shocked by the carnage. Then he took a closer look at the figure and stepped back, stunned.

It's a person!" He said. "Good grief, it's a person!"

"Oh-no!" Will said in horror. He leapt over the fallen tree and slid next to the body.

Annabeth and Nico followed him.

Will rolled the person over on his back, and noticed that it was a boy about their age, sixteen. He had dark hair and a blood stained black T-shirt and jeans. But the thing that Will noticed the most was the horrific slash across the boy's chest.

It was deep and went all the way from his right shoulder to right below his ribs. Even worse, the boy, who was unconscious, was hardly breathing.

His face was flushed and he was shivering badly. Will was an expert medic, and he knew the signs. He wished that he were wrong.

"Poison," he said gravely, "Whatever attacked him was poisonous. If we get him back to camp right now, and I mean right this very instant sort of now, I think that we can save him."

He gave Nico a meaningful look.

"I guess I could shadow travel him back," Nico said, "But you're going to have to come with me. You're the only one who would know what to do."

Will nodded and moved so that his shadow was in the right spot. Before anyone could go, however, Annabeth said, "Wait!"

"What is it?" Percy asked, looking around warily for any sign of monsters.

Annabeth gestured towards Nightshade, who was whimpering and sniffing around the campsite. "The wolf is still searching. And don't forget, Seaweed Brain, that there were two whistles. We found one" Here she pointed to the shiny golden whistle that was hanging around the boy's neck. "So where is the other one? Also, there's a shield and sword lying beside the dead hellhound. If they belong to that guy, why does he already have a sword and shield next to him?"

She looked around at everybody. "You guys," she said, "There was somebody with him. Where did they go?"


	2. Snake with a capital S

_**Hi guys, Serena here! I really hope that you like my story, and if you do, please review it and let me know! And if you have any suggestions on how my story could be any better, I would love to hear them! Thanks so much for reading this!**_

Before Percy could say anything, Will cleared his throat. "I don't mean to ruin the drama here," he said, "But this guy needs medical care or else he will DIE! So Nico and I will take him back to camp, and you guys can look for the other person. And don't worry, I'll send Nico back with another medic just in case."

"I'll be very quick," Nico promised.

Annabeth nodded. "Go on," she said, "But hurry back."

Nico placed his one hand one Will's shoulder and the other hand on the boy's arm. He shut his eyes, concentrating.

It took a moment, but Nico was finally able to melt into a shadow, taking Will and the boy along with him.

Clarisse stared at the spot where they had been. "That's just plain creepy," she commented.

Percy kicked at the twisted sword that lay beside the hellhound. "Look at it," he marveled, "It's all broken. And guess what?"

"What?" Annabeth asked as she explored the small clearing for clues.

"It's made out of Celestial bronze, just like the shield. Whatever attacked them must have been either huge or super strong. Not even a Cyclops could break Celestial bronze."

"Ugh. That's not good."

Clarisse poked at the dead hellhound with her electric spear. She frowned.

"The bite marks all over the hellhound are sizzling," she called to the others "Do you think it was a Hydra?"

Percy shook his head. "Too strong," he said, "No Hydra could have done this much damage. 'Sides, the scream we heard was obviously not a Hydra."

"So," Annabeth said, "What was it? Maybe it was a- oh."

Percy turned to her. "Oh what?"

"What if," she said slowly, "It wasn't a Greek monster? What if it was a Norse monster?"

She gazed at Nightshade. The silver wolf was now pawing at the boy's weapons. His tail was drooping and he looked back at Annabeth with mournful eyes. They may never know who the other person was, but it was obvious that the wolf cared very deeply for him or her.

Clarisse snorted. "A Norse monster?" She laughed in disbelief, "There's no so thing!"

Percy looked doubtful. He scanned the area one more time. "Why not?" He said. "There might be a Norse camp. A Norse wolf is literally walking around right in front of us. I've never, ever, in my entire sixteen year long life, have ever fought a monster like this one before. And trust me, I have fought every type of Greek monster there is."

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she replied.

"Hey guys!" Annabeth said suddenly. "I've found something!"

The two glared at each other one more time before going over to where Annabeth was stooping over something behind one of the boulders. She stood up as they approached, brushing her messy blond hair out of her face.

She pointed to an odd line on the ground. Percy and Clarisse stared at it. It looked just like the mark a snake makes when it is slithering really fast, if snakes were as thick as barrels and covered in green slime.

"Ew," Percy said, stepping away from the tracks, "That just looks disgusting."

"That's not all," Annabeth said, "When I was twelve, I did an extensive study on snakes for a camp project. Now, this 'snake' was slithering backwards. That, besides its abnormal size and slime, is quite unusual. Even weirder was the fact that as it was leaving, it was dragging something. Someone, to be precise."

Clarisse checked her electric spear to make sure it was working. "So does that mean that the snake thing dragged some random person off for no reason? I mean, besides being hungry, but seriously, is it coming back?"

She scowled fiercely. "Cause if it is, the Ares cabin is having fried slime snake tonight for dinner. Ain't no monster getting within two inches of Camp Half-Blood!"

"That's the spirit," Annabeth said, "But I'm afraid that we won't be able to fight it. The tracks vanish after a few feet. We need to come back later with expert trackers and more fighters. There's no telling just how dangerous this monster is."

"You're right," Percy said reluctantly. He didn't really want to leave now, but Annabeth was always right. Most of the time, anyways. He sighed and picked up one of the swords.

"I can get this and one of the shields; you and Clarisse can get the other ones."

Clarisse scooped up the other sword and both of the shields. "I can carry just as much as you can, Prissy," she huffed.

"Oooookaaay," said Percy, "Or we can do that."

Suddenly, there was a whooshing noise, and Nico appeared with a thump beside Annabeth.

Annabeth jumped back, startled. "Oh my word, Nico!" She yelped, "Dont do that!"

"Sorry," he said, "Next time, I'll try to send you a text that says, 'I am currently shadow traveling in your direction with a medic and I will be there in approximately point two seconds.'"

Percy smiled at him. "And I thought I was sarcastic," he quipped. "By the way, where exactly is the medic?"

Nico held up a finger. "Hang on a sec," he answered, "Ella is kinda hard to shadow travel with since she's claustrophobic. She panics, but eventually she should get the hang of it."

Just as he finished speaking, Ella came tumbling out of nowhere. "AHHHH!" She screamed. She slammed into the ground at Percy's feet, eyes shut tight and arms wrapped around her head.

"Am I alive?" She asked, still not looking up.

The others exchanged glances. They were all wondering the same thing: Who in the world thought that sending Ella would be a good idea?

Don't get me wrong, Ella was super sweet and everybody liked her, but the shy thirteen-year-old Apollo girl wasn't really crime scene medic material. She was afraid of multiple things, including large animals, monsters, the dark, monsters, blood, monsters, battle, monsters, conflict, monsters, hurting people's feelings, and monsters. Especially snake-like monsters. She had had several bad experiences involving Hydras, which seemed to hate her for some reason.

Once she realized that she was, indeed, in one piece, Ella jumped to her feet. "Whoa," she said, "that was SCARY! No way am I doing that again! Sorry Nico, but I'm walking back to camp."

She looked around. "So is the monster still around?" She asked nervously. "And is the wolf going to eat us? I hope not; I don't want to be eaten at such a young age."

"No," said Annabeth, "And I don't think that we're going to need a medic. Whatever took the other person dragged him or her off and is probably enjoying a good meal right now."

She showed Ella the tracks, and while the girl was distracted, Percy and Clarisse turned on Nico.

"Why would you bring her?" Percy asked. "That was like, the dumbest thing that you could have done!"

He felt bad the second the words left his mouth, but it was too late to turn back.

"Was it Will's idea?" Clarisse asked. "Did he send the little coward?"

Nico sighed. "Look you guys," he said, "Ella really isn't that bad once you get to know her. She can be unbelievably brave sometimes; you just have to give her a chance. And yes, Percy, it was Will's idea."

"Of course it was," Percy muttered.

"So that's why we have to return with reinforcements," Annabeth was saying to Ella once Percy and Clarisse finished being mad at Will and Nico. "The other person has to be dead by now, but we still have to kill the monster."

"Actually," Ella said, pushing her oversized glasses up her nose, "The person is probably still alive."

Everybody stared at her, confused.

She pointed to the tracks. "Well, first off, these were not made by a Norse monster. A very rare form of snake that only appears about once every two thousand years made these. It is called the Snake, with a capital S of course since it is a name, and there are only two types of Snakes."

Percy's brain started to hurt. There was no way that this was happening.

Ella continued. "There are intelligent Snakes and non-intelligent Snakes. This was clearly an intelligent one since there is green slime coating the tracks. A non-intelligent Snake gives off blue slime, due to the small size of its brain."

She hopped over the tracks and pointed to another track, the one that Annabeth had said belonged to whatever the Snake had dragged away.

"Intelligent Snakes never eat. Not even once in their whole life. We have already deduced that this was an intelligent Snake, which means that the other person was dragged off for a reason. The Snake might have been bribed by somebody to capture this person. Therefore, there is a very good chance that the person is still alive."

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Who are you and what have you done with Ella?" She asked.

A twig snapped in the forest, and Ella shrieked. She jumped and grabbed onto Percy's arm.

"W-was it th-the Snake?" She stammered nervously.

"Aaaand Ella is officially back," Clarisse sighed.

When Percy finally found his voice, he said, "Nah, it was just a vicious twig. Don't worry, they only attack at night. By the way, are you sure that you aren't really from the Athena cabin? How did you know all of that stuff?"

Ella blushed. "I read a lot about ancient monsters, just in case I get attacked by one. It always pays to be prepared."

Nico crossed his arms over his chest, a smug look on his face. "That's why Will wanted me to bring her," he said, "I told you guys that it was worth it."

"Worth what?" Ella asked.

"Never mind," said Percy, "I have a feeling that Nico is going to be lording this over me for the rest of my life. Come on you guys, let's go back to camp and come up with a new plan of action."

By the time they had all trekked back to Camp Half-Blood, along with Nightshade, who seemed to be afraid of being left alone, the sun was almost halfway across the sky.

"I'm starving," Clarisse complained. She trudged up to the pathway that led to the Big House. Annabeth had insisted that they all submit a full report to Chiron before eating.

"Why do I have to tell him what happened? Why can't just one of us do it? Someone who is not me?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. This was about the tenth time she had explained it.

"Because," she replied patiently, "It is vital to get as many views as possible when we have a problem as big as this."

Clarisse just frowned. She still couldn't see why this had to be done, but she wasn't in the mood to argue (Which was even more rare than finding a Snake).

Chiron was not there, though, so Annabeth said that they would just have to give him the report later.

Lunch had already passed, but Percy was able to talk a tree nymph server into whipping up a quick lunch for them.

They all sat around the empty Hermes table, each one trying to collect their thoughts.

"This is probably the weirdest day since the day I discovered that I was could summon ghosts," Nico commented.

"You've got that right," Percy agreed, "Although in my opinion, this is the weirdest day since the day that I met Bob the Titan." He paused for a moment. "Man, that was a pretty weird day."

"My weirdest day was when a discovered that Prissy was smart enough to recognize his own name," Clarisse said. "Of course, that's about as smart as he'll ever get."

"Thank you Clarisse for your kind remarks and mispronouncing my name. Again," Percy replied.

Ella absently stirred her egg drop soup with her spoon. "Do you think that the guy who was hurt will be okay?" She asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "I hope so," she said, "I know that Will is doing the best he can."

She stared down the hill at where Mrs. O'Leary was trying to play with Nightshade. The silver wolf looked seriously depressed, though, so getting him to do anything except lay in the shade and whimper seemed fairly hopeless.

Nico sighed. "Why can't that stupid wolf just come up here and say, 'Guess what? I'm from a Norse camp and I can help you guys find the missing person! By the way, the other camp is at such and such place, so why don't you drop by for a visit to tell the people there that you have one of their campers, so come and help us!' That would be so useful."

Percy chuckled. "That would be pretty useful," he said, looking at the giant wolf, who, despite being utterly useless as of now, was a very majestic creature.

Then he blinked and looked again.

"Guys," he said, "Is that somebody running towards us?"

Everybody stopped what they were doing to see.

"It is," said Annabeth, "and I think that it's Will."

"I wonder what's wrong," said Nico worriedly.

They went to the edge of the pavilion and met Will just as he reached the top.

"Is everything okay?" Ella asked him.

Will panted for breath and shook his head. "No," he gasped, "nothing is okay."

They all exchanged worried glances. Had the boy died?

Will finally managed to speak, and he told them the reason for his urgency.

"The guy we found is awake, and he told me something really, really, really important. You guys, this is bad. You need to come with me right now."


	3. Meeting Marcus

_**Serena Stellington here. Here's part 3 to, "The link of the Gods."**_ _ **Happy New Year!**_

Percy had no idea why Will was so stressed out, but one thing he did know was that Will never panicked unless the world was about to explode or something like that. Percy picked up his pace, running as fast as he could.

Will took them to the infirmary, where all of the sick or injured campers went for treatment. As of now, the boy from the forest was the only patient.

"Could you PLEASE tell us what this is all about?" Nico asked. "Do we really have to hear it from him?"

"Yes," Will replied as he pushed the infirmary do open, "This is too big for me to tell you about. You're gonna have to hear it from Marcus himself."

"Marcus?" Said Clarisse.

"Yep, that's the guy's name."

Ella stepped inside after Annabeth. "I'm scared," she complained, "All of this suspense is driving me nuts!"

"You're always scared," Clarisse snorted.

Before they all went in, however, Will turned to Ella and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Ella," he said gently, "Why don't you go back to the Apollo cabin and wait for me there? This is kind of a meeting for cabin leaders only."

"Oh," Ella said, swallowing hard, "Then this must really be an emergency, huh?"

"It is," Will said grimly.

Ella walked off slowly, her head hanging low.

Despite the urgency, Percy couldn't help but feel sorry for her. It wasn't her fault that she got scared easily.

"I'll feel bad about that later," said Will, "But right now we have more important things to worry about."

Together, they stepped inside, Percy shutting the door behind them. It was cozy inside, although more cluttered than the Hephaestus cabin. Piles of herbs and medicines were piled high, all the way up to the ceiling. There were also strange glowing bottles and books full of healing spells. Percy could be locked in here for the rest of his life and never get bored. Okay, maybe he would get a little bored, but you get the picture.

The leaders of the other cabins were crowded around the boy, Marcus, who was now wide awake and seemed to be in almost perfect health.

"That was quick," Nico couldn't help but comment.

'Yeah," Will replied, "The poison was surprisingly easy to neutralize. I think that he's still in pain, but just really good at showing it."

Marcus nodded at the small group as they came up. He was nearly as tall as Percy was, had dark hair that was in serious need of a hairbrush, dark brown eyes. He carried himself with an air of authority, as if he was used to being shown respect.

The other cabin leaders looked anxious.

"Alright Will," Conner Stoll, one of the Stoll the brothers from the Hermes Cabin, said, "Now can you let this dude tell us WHAT IS GOING ON?!?" He shouted the last few words, venting his frustration on the ears of all who stood by.

"I wanted him to only have to say it one more time, OK?" Will answered in frustration. "He nearly died, and it was only because a Hecate kid found a good spell that he is still alive. Marcus is very weak from his ordeal."

Marcus didn't like this. "I'm perfectly fine," he protested, "And although I am very grateful for you for saving me, you don't have to treat me like a hospital patient."

Will ignored him.

"Now," he said, trying to remain calm under the pressure of an emergency, "Marcus, will you please tell the others what you told me."

Marcus groaned. "You do know that I didn't mean to tell you all of that, right? It was supposed to be a secret until somebody gave me a whopper of an anesthetic."

"Sorry about that," Will apologized. "But you did tell me, and what you told me was pretty bad, so I would love it if you could help me out a little here."

"Fine," Marcus snapped, "I guess I owe you at least that much."

He took a deep breath and faced the group of campers.

"My name is Marcus Van Detten," he said, "And I am from Camp Asgard. I was passing through the woods nearby with my friend, Helena. We didn't even know that we were anywhere close to camp Half-Blood, but I'm lucky that we were."

"Now, what I am about to tell you is top secret, and the only reason that I'm letting you all know about this is because your Camp is now in danger. You have to promise me to not tell anybody, or else this could get incredibly bad."

"How bad?" Percy asked. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer."

Marcus smiled, but it was a grim, cold smile.

"Very bad," he said, "In fact, think the gates of the underworld opening up and all of the villains that ever existed getting out kind of bad."

"Oh," Percy gulped, "That kind of bad. Ugh, this can't be good, please continue."

"Thanks," said Marcus.

"OK, now where was I? Oh yeah, this is top secret. Anybody planning on saying anything about it to your friends?"

Nobody answered.

"I didn't think so. Well, the leader of Camp Asgard, his name is Kip, was going through some old Norse battle trophies and found a book. It felt really powerful and magical, so Kip looked it up and discovered that it was a portal of sorts."

Marcus paused for a moment. 'Hang on a sec," he said, suddenly out of breath.

"You okay?" Will asked worriedly.

"I told you, I am fine," Marcus said, "Just a little out of breath."

Percy wondered how much pride it took to not admit that you were in serious pain after being clawed by a poisonous Snake. Were all Norse demi-gods like this?

Marcus coughed. "There," he said, "I told you, I'm fine."

"Now about that portal…" Annabeth said. She looked like she was about to die from the suspense.

"Right, the portal. Turns out, this was a portal that- well, it sort of- you see, the portal-"

"OH MY WORD JUST TELL US ALREADY OR I WILL SPEAR YOU AND HANG YOUR HEAD ON MY CABIN DOOR!" Clarisse yelled at him.

Everybody jumped, terrified within half an inch of their lives. An angry Clarisse was something that no one wanted to see.

Marcus was the only one who didn't seem startled be the shout.

"Be patient," he told her, "I'm getting to that."

It took five campers to keep Clarisse from ripping the boy's head off.

Marcus continued. "Anyways, the portal is basically a link between the gods. All of the gods, Norse, Greek , Roman, what the heck, even the Native American gods are linked by the portal. It connects our underworlds, so if this got into the wrong hands, we are doomed."

Nobody said anything, so he added, "Completely doomed. Like, no chance of survival doomed."

"And that is why this was such an urgent meeting," said Will. He looked at the others. "Any questions?"

Nico grabbed a table overflowing with medicines to steady himself. "Holy Halloween, this is bad!"

"Ya think?" Marcus replied.

"Yeah, I have a question," interjected Drew, leader of the Aphrodite cabin. She was in charge whenever Piper, the real leader, was at Camp Jupiter.

"Where is the portal now?" She asked, giving Marcus a dazzling smile. Only Drew could flirt in a crisis.

Marcus ignored the smile. "Here's the bad part," he said, "It's with Helena. My friend. Who was dragged off by a giant snake the last time I saw her."

"Great," muttered Percy, "Just what I needed! To know that the biggest weapon in the world is with a Snake with a capital S."

Nearly everyone looked confused.

"A Snake with a capital S?" Travis Stoll said. "What is that supposed to mean."

"Long story."

"Gotcha. I probably don't want to know."

"You don't, trust me."

Marcus waited until they were done talking, then he said, "My friend is probably dead by now, so I have to say that looking for the portal is kinda useless. As for me, I'm heading back to Camp Asgard to warn the campers there."

Annabeth looked confused. "Wait," she said, "I don't get it. Helena was your friend. Why are you so unemotional about it."

"I'm from the Hel cabin, goddess of Death," said Marcus, rolling his eyes, "I'm supposed to be heartless. What do you want me to do, cry like a toddler and scream, 'Oh woe is me, my pal has died!' Uh, no way."

He started for the door.

"I'll see you guys someday. Actually, I probably won't, we'll all be dead sooner or later. Thanks Will, I still owe you one."

"Wait!" Percy called, just as Marcus grabbed the doorknob.

He turned around, obviously impatient. "Yes?"

"Helena, your friend, she might still have the portal! She's alive; the Snake that grabbed her and nearly killed you was a very rare- oh, never mind, the point is, the portal is still out there."

Clarisse scowled at Marcus. "Yeah, we still have a fighting chance to beat the odds and win. Are you with us?"

The other cabin leaders waited breathlessly. They were all silently hoping and praying that this strange boy would agree.

Marcus smiled. "Well, if Helena really is alive, then I'm with you all the way."

Percy grinned widely. Today was indeed full of twists and turns.

"But," Marcus continued, "I still need to leave." He opened the door.

Percy's heart fell.

"Why?" Drew exclaimed, "I thought that you were going to help us!"

"I am," Marcus said," But we need reinforcements. And those, my friends, are at Camp Asgard."

Travis cleared his throat. "I can help organize the camp, just in case there is battle. I think that Percy and maybe some other people should go with Marcus, just in case."

The look that the Stoll boy was giving Percy clearly, 'Just in case means make sure that Camp Asgard is truly with us.'

Percy gave him a nod. "He's right," he said, "Marcus might need help."

"No I don't," Marcus replied.

He walked outside. "I'm going by myself," he called over his shoulder, "But I'll stop by your weapons shed on the way. Don't worry, I'll pay you back."

Will sighed. "Most stubborn patient ever."

Travis looked anxious. "You guys," he said, "Percy needs to go with him. I don't trust him; this was too quick and too easy."

"I agree," Annabeth said, "And if Percy is going, then I'm going."

Percy glanced back at Marcus, who had disappeared into the weapons shed. "We should," he said, "So how about we go ahead an catch up with him NOW?"

"Go ahead," said Will, "I'll help take care of things here."

Quickly, Percy and Annabeth sprinted from the shed together. Nico followed them.

He saw Percy's questioning look. "You also need a shadow traveler," he explained.

"I see," said Percy, who really did not see why they needed a shadow traveler.

'I'm coming too!" A small voice called from the infirmary. They stopped moving and looked back, surprised.

Ella bounced up to them.

"I was listening outside of the door," she said, "And since Will isn't going, I can go for him. You need a medic."

Annabeth sighed. She looked fondly at the little Apollo girl.

"Ella," she said gently, "You've never been on a real quest before, so I don't think that you-"

"But I'll be with you guys!" Ella interrupted. She swung her medical bag over her shoulder and marched on ahead. "Besides, wasn't there another person named Ella who read a lot of stuff and helped you guys on a mission?"

"She was half bird," Percy pointed out.

"Whatever. I'm still coming."

Nico shrugged and went after her. "You can't argue with logic like that."

Why, Percy thought, did I think it was a good idea to follow the sound of that stupid whistle?

The four questers caught up with Marcus. He was in the middle of going through the weapons shed and searching for a new sword. A terrified camper was standing by the door, watching helplessly while Marcus raided the whole supply.

Seeing Percy, the girl smiled in relief.

"Oh thank the gods that you're here," she said to them, "I tried to tell him that he wasn't supposed to be in here, but he threatened to remove my soul and send it into Jotenheim, where ever that is."

Percy looked at Annabeth. "Jotenheim?" He asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm an expert in Greek places, not Norse."

"Jotenheim." Ella piped up, "Is the valley of the giants, who are the Norse god's greatest enemies. Legends say that-"

"Thank you Ella," Nico interrupted, "But we don't need the whole lesson."

The Apollo girl blushed. "Sorry," she muttered.

Marcus emerged from the shed. He was carrying a broadsword and a dagger that was tucked into his belt.

"It isn't Norse, but it'll have to do for now," he said.

The strange boy seemed completely unsurprised that he had been followed.

Percy swallowed hard and stepped back, just in case what he was about to say didn't end well. There was no telling how powerful a child of Hel was.

"Listen, Marcus," he began, "The other cabin leaders decided that it would be best if we-"

"Went with me and made sure that I really was going to help you," Marcus finished for him. "And no, you may not. I work best alone, and it would take too long. Besides, just because Will and some random Hecate kid saved my life, doesn't mean that I like you guys. Because I don't. Not even a little bit."

Nico narrowed his eyes. "But we still have to come with you," he said firmly, "Or else you may not get back alive. You need help."

Marcus paused, mentally going over his options. If he said, no, well, from what he had seen about these Camp Half-Blood kids, they would probably find a way to follow him anyways. If he said yes, then he'd have to take the chance of getting demoted by Kip. Kip had a personal vendetta against Camp half-Blood. Oh well, might as well go for the greater good!

Marcus looked them over. "Fine," he snapped, "I can see that it would be no use to tell you guys no. But we go by my rules."

"What are your rules?" Ella asked suspiciously.

"No questioning what I do, pack lightly, we travel at night, and most importantly, NO ACTING LIKE GREEKS."

He put extra emphasis on the last one.

"Why do we-" Percy began, but Annabeth interrupted him.

"It's a deal," she said quickly.

Percy was about about to protest, but he thought twice before he did anything stupid. Annabeth had a good reason for everything. And Marcus seemed satisfied (For now), so he probably shouldn't mess anything up.

"OK," Percy said, "Looks like it's settled. Give us five minutes to pack, an we'll be there."

Marcus nodded. "K," he replied, "I'll meet you at the border."

He watched the four kids dash of to their cabins.

I am so getting demoted, he thought.

\--

Four minutes, five point two seconds later, Ella arrived at the border. She was the last one to get there.

"Do we have everything that we need," Annabeth asked, slinging her satchel over her shoulder.

Ella nodded as she breathlessly pushed her glasses back up her nose. She had run all the way non-stop from the Apollo cabin to the Camp's border.

"Great!" Said Percy, "Let's go!'

He stepped across the border and had hardly made it five paces before Marcus called after him, "You can walk if you want, but I was thinking more along the lines of a car."

Percy turned around, surprised.

"A car?" He said.

"A car?" Nico said.

"A car?" Ella said.

"A car?" Annabeth said.

Marcus sighed. "Yes, a car. You know, one of those big metal things that had four wheels and takes you places?"

Percy walked back to the others. "I know perfectly well what a car is," he said, "But how are we going to get one?"

Marcus smiled. "Do you think that me and Helena walked all the way from Camp Asgard to here?" he asked.

"well…" Ella began.

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Greeks aren't the only ones who have magic," he said, "Yes, a car. Wanna get one?"

"Heck yeah!" Annabeth exclaimed.

Marcus grabbed the whistle that hung around his neck and blew it five times, two short, three long. He waited a moment before blowing it again.

A howl from the other side of the camp answered him. Nightshade came bounding up from the eating pavilion, clanking and clonking as he ran.

Nico's jaw dropped. "That's your car?'

"Yep!"

Nightshade reached the five kids in no time. His tail was wagging excitedly, and he barked like a puppy. A very big, wolfish puppy.

Marcus waited until the huge animal was a few feet away, then he said in his most commanding tone, "Nightshade, sit!"

Nightshade looked disappointed, but he sat.

Ella jumped backwards in fright. "Oh no," she said, shaking her head while slowly in fright, "No way am I getting on that thing!"

Marcus ignored her and continued to order Nightshade about. "Nightshade, morph."

The silver wolf whimpered.

Marcus narrowed his eyes. "Morph," he commanded, "Right now."

The others watched in slack-jawed amazement as the dog resigned itself to doing as it was told. Nightshade's silver fur tightened and hardened until it looked just like metal.

"It IS metal!" Annabeth exclaimed.

The wolf's armor melted into it's body while it's four legs shrank and hardened into four rubber wheels. It's eyes grew bigger and bigger and turned into headlight; it's snout flattened into a hood. Nightshade's ears moved down the side of his head, stretching out into rearview mirrors. Soon enough, the silver wolf had completely turned into a fancy silver van.

"There's our car," Marcus said with a smirk.

"I should be calling the humane society right now," Ella muttered.

Marcus opened up the front door of the van. "Who wants to ride in the front?" He asked. "I claim the drivers seat."

"I'll take it," Nico volunteered as he climbed into the chair.

Annabeth hopped into the back, marveling over the transformation that had taken place. "It's incredible," she said, "And to make matters even more amazing, Nightshade is- was, whatever, a living animal, and now he is a car. I wish I had my machinery textbook with me right now."

Percy and Ella were a bit more hesitant, both for the same reason.

"What if it turns back into a wolf while we're inside?" Ella challenged Marcus. "What will happen then?"

Marcus remained perfectly calm as he responded, "Then we will die a horrible and gruesome death from suffocation or being crushed to tiny little pieces."

Ella gulped. "At least you're honest."

Soon, everyone was safely in the van. Marcus fiddled around with the control panel for a few minutes. "To be perfectly honest," he admitted, "I've never driven this thing before. Helena is the only camper who has actually done it. She's from the Odin cabin, so she's the only person smart enough to drive Nightshade with the minimum risk of explosion."

"Why do I regret going with you," Percy sighed.

"Are we going or what?" Nico asked impatiently.

Marcus was still examining the control panel. "Give me a sec," he said, "This takes time. Ah, here we go, I think that we're supposed to push the bright red button that says, 'ALL CAMPERS FROM CABIN THREE, DO NOT PUSH THIS OR YOU WILL PROBABLY END UP KILLING US ALL.'"

"Are you from cabin five?" Annabeth asked nervously.

"Nah, Hel cabin is number four. Cabin five is the Loki cabin, that's where Kip lives."

And without further ado, Marcus pushed the red button.

Everybody braced themselves. Ella shut her eyes tightly, and Percy gripped his armrests in a death lock. Annabeth and Nico sent fervent prayers to the gods for safety.

Marcus suddenly gasped. "This isn't good," he said, his calm and controlled face slipping into a terrified expression.

"What isn't?" Percy asked, still holding on tightly.

"I pushed the wrong button."

\--

Will Solace was wondering if he had made the right decision about letting Percy, Nico, and Annabeth leave without a little more help. For one thing, Ella was missing. For another thing, that crazy wolf had just come bounding by in response for yet ANOTHER whistle. For another thing, Will could have sworn that he'd just heard a car zooming away from Camp Half-Blood. For another thing, along with the sound of the car, there had been the high-pitched sound of panicked screaming.

What a day, Will thought. I'm going to go Iris-message Chiron. I can't handle the craziness all by myself. I wonder if it really was screaming that I heard?

It was.


	4. A Rough Landing

_**Greeting once again! I have finished the next chapter, and hope that you all enjoy. When I saw all of the likes and saves, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has read and liked it! Especially since I have never written fan-fiction before, this has really inspired me to write more. Also, please keep the reviews nice if you have any questions or comments. Or DM Luciusbraun, and they will give it to me and I'll reply back. Sincerely, Serena Stellington**_

As Percy Jackson sat there, trapped in his seat, his life flashed before his eyes. Well, more like it flashed through his mind, because all he could really see was Annabeth's hair and small glimpses of the inside of the car. Anyways, from what he could see was that he wished that he'd done more in his life, and that he could die in a less humiliating day. Because seriously, dying in a car wreck is one thing, but in a car/wolf wreck or being impaled by your own sword while getting crashed in a car/wolf wreck is humiliating.

Percy really did think that he was about to die. How on earth is that wolf navigating? He wondered. And how are we going faster than the speed of light and not smashing into anything?

Percy tried to move, but they were still going so fast that his body was being pressed against the seat by all the pressure.

This is even worse than the time I went on that rollercoaster at the amusement park and screamed like a little girl.

Then, just as he was expecting to open his eyes and see Hades, the van stopped.

"WHOA!" Everybody yelled as they were thrown forwards. Percy slammed into Marcus's chair. "Ow."

Nico groaned and weakly slid out of his chair and onto the floor. "Why is everything spinning?" He mumbled.

"For the same reason the world just turned upside down," Ella responded, "And why my head feels like it left my shoulders. And why I can't tell right from left."

"Oh honey, you got that right!" Annabeth said. She fumbled for a hairband and tried (And failed miserably) to pull her tangled hair into a ponytail.

"That was one heck of a ride," Percy said, summing up the whole thirty second trip perfectly. "Where are we."

"Probably Hawaii or China," Marcus said. He pulled himself upright. "Good grief, what a ride! No wonder cabin five isn't allowed to use it. We'd all die."

Percy looked out the window and scanned the surrounding area. It was green and bright, filled with tall trees and colorful flowers. He couldn't see any animals, which was understandable considering the fact that anyone within ten miles of the place probably ran away in fright at the sound of the car/wolf whatever Nightshade was now. A wide gravel pathway that wound off into the forest was the only sign of civilization.

"Looks like we're the only ones here," Nico said. He opened up his door and tumbled out, throwing his arms around the nearest tree and hugging it. "Life is so beautiful!" He exclaimed. "I never in a million years would have guessed that I would ever say something as un-deathlike as that."

The other kids stepped out too, stretching their legs and inhaling the wonderful woodland air.

Marcus leaned against the van. "Last time I'm ever driving again," he said, "I'll just walk for the rest of my life."

"Too true," Percy sighed. Then he turned and glared at him. "By the way, what made you think that the red button was the right one?"

Marcus shrugged. "I didn't know for sure," he replied, "I kinda guessed."

"WHAT, YOU GUESSED? MY LIFE DEPENDED ON YOU GUESSING RIGHT? I COULD HAVE DIED!"

"But you didn't."

"Aw, c'mon you guys, don't argue now," Ella said. "Now isn't the time for fighting."

"She's right," agreed Annabeth, "We're still alive and nobody is hurt, so there's no need to be at each other's throats."

Percy and Marcus shut up, but not before giving each other the 'we'll finish this later' look.

Ella looked around the bright forest. "Where are we?" she asked. "This doesn't really look like China. Or Hawaii, for that matter."

Marcus smiled. "That's 'cause it's not either of 'em! We, my friends, are in Camp Asgard. Well, the border of it."

The Camp Half-Blood kids stared around. All they saw was the gravel pathway. There were no cabins or anything.

Seeing their confused looks, Marcus hastened to add, "Like I said, we're at the border. The rest of Camp Asgard is further on into the woods."

"That's great!" Nico said. "Let's go!"

He started forwards onto the path, but Marcus stopped him. "Wait a second, Nico. You guys should probably wait and let me go on ahead and tell the others about your arrival."

Nico narrowed his eyes. "OK, now I have a reason to not trust you. What do you mean by 'wait here?'"

"I mean wait here."

Percy jumped in on the conversation. "Marcus, you have no idea how suspicious you sound. We barely know you; for all we know, you could be planning an ambush. Nope, we are going with you."

Marcus sighed. Today was not going that well for him. The last thing that he needed was for these annoying kids to get killed by the Norse campers, and having a bunch of angry Greeks after him. No way, they were staying here.

"It's not safe," he tried, but that only made things worse.

"Not safe as in, 'you're going to kill us all,'" Annabeth said defiantly. She crossed her arms and frowned at him. "Marcus, you better have a good explanation for this."

Marcus hesitated. "I do," he said, "But I'm not at liberty to discus it."

Nobody said anything. They were all waiting. Marcus would rather take a trip down to Jotunheim than deal with them right now.

"Well" Ella prompted.

"Oh. My. Word." Marcus finally said, emphasizing each word for an extra furious effect. "You guys are getting on my very last nerve, the one that I usually reserve for Kip. He can be super annoying sometimes. But right now, you all might have just won the irritation award. Do you absolutely have to know why I want you to stay here?"

"YES!" they answered in unison.

Marcus huffed angrily. "Fine, I'll tell you."

"Finally," Percy muttered.

"Here's the reason: Everybody at Camp Asgard hates you and would do anything in their power to kill you and feed your bodies to the Hunter Wolves."

"Wow." Annabeth blinked. "That was... disturbing,at the very least."

Percy was confused, as were the rest of them."Why do they want to kill us?" He asked. "We didn't do anything wrong."

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, don't pretend like you don't know!"

Percy shook his head. "No, we really don't know. Can you tell us?"

Marcus eyed the small group skeptically. "You're telling the truth, right? I mean, you seriously don't know what happened?"

"No!" Percy practically yelled, "We have no idea! Just tell us."

Marcus took a deep breath. "Swear by Thor's Hammer, or whatever you Greeks swear by, that you aren't lying, and I'll believe you."

"I swear by Styx that all of us have no idea what happened to make the Norse camp hate us so much," Percy said solemnly.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Ella nervously wrung her hands. "Okay, now the suspense really IS driving me nuts," she said, "Can you tell us now?"

Marcus looked at her. "Alright," he replied, "I'm going out on a limb here, plus Kip is no doubt going to demote me down to eighth rank, but here goes."

They all waited in anticipation for the explanation.

"So about four or five years ago, when I was around thirteen, some guy wanders into our camp and says that he's from a place called Camp Half-Blood. He told us that he had come in peace and wanted to make an alliance with us."

"What did he look like?" Ella interrupted.

Marcus shrugged. "I don't remember that much," he said, "I mean, this guy was pretty average looking. He was tall, blond, um, I think he had blue eyes. Oh yeah, and he had a scar running down his face."

Annabeth gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Percy gave her a warning look, but his heart was beating just as rapidly as hers was. Luke! It had to be Luke! He had a fairly good idea of where this story was going, and he didn't want to let Marcus know that they knew this guy.

Unfortunately, Marcus never got to finish telling it, because an arrow came whistling out of nowhere and sank into the tree right behind Nico's head.

"Drop your weapons, or the next one goes right between his eyes!" Someone declared from the woods.

Percy whipped out Riptide, but before anybody could do anything, a second voice said, "You don't have to be so dramatic. Thor is the god of thunder, not theatrics. Stop quoting popular movie villains lines."

The first person responded, sounding hurt. "But it helps to intimidate our foes."

"We don't know if they are our foes or not. Besides, who uses the word 'foes' anymore?"

Marcus sighed in relief. He turned to the others. "It's safe," he said, "I know these guys." He called out to the unseen people in the forest. "Maya, Steve, it's me, Marcus. And some other demi-gods. They're new."

He lowered his voice and quietly told the Camp Half-Blood group, "Whatever you guys do, don't let on that you're Greeks, or else you'll be dead faster than you can say, 'I wish that I had listened to Marcus.'"

They barely had time to nod, and then two kids stepped out from the trees.

The first was a boy, around fifteen years old, who had pale hair and eyes. He was clearly the first voice, for he had a bow and a quiver of arrows with him.

The second was a beautiful sixteen-year-old girl with long dark hair, dark skin, and large brown eyes. She had a friendly, easy going smile and a dagger hanging from her belt.

"Greetings," the girl said, "My name is Maya, daughter of Tyr. I am so glad to meet you. And hello Marcus, did your- wait."

She stopped smiling and looked very, very concerned. "Where is Helena?" She asked.

Marcus glanced down at the ground. "Yeah, about that, um, Maya, we're gonna have to talk."

"She's still alive, right?" The other kid said anxiously.

Percy stepped in. "She is," he said, "At least we assume so."

Marcus glared at him. "I told you to be inconspicuous," he hissed, "And right now, you are being VERY conspicuous."

Annabeth smiled disarmingly. "Listen," she said, "Helena is fine at the moment, but we need to-"

"Oh, where are my manners?" Maya interrupted. "Helena can take care of herself. You guys are new, and I know that realizing that you're half god can be scary sometimes, but here at Camp Asgard, you can learn all about it!"

"But we alr-" Nico begin. Ella assessed the situation and interrupted him before he could ruin anything.

"I know, it's super new and everything, and we are so eager to learn. We met Helena and Marcus, and they decided that it was very important to take us back, but I think that they had some sorta mission, I don't know that much about it. Anyways, Marcus took us back and Helena went on, and although we don't know where she is right now, she's probably OK!"

Percy silently marveled over the little girl's genius. How perfect, he thought, This give us the best excuse ever for being here, and it also gives Marcus some time to think up a way to explain the fact that we're Greek. What a little genius! She has to be from the Athena cabin. No way an Apollo kid would be that smart.

Marcus blinked. "Uh, uh, yeah," he said, "Um, yep, that's exactly what happened.

Percy and Nico stumbled along, trying to act inconspicuous. Annabeth was still stunned from the beginning of the story that Marcus had told them about.

"I am so excited about, um, learning about my dad, that is, mom, I mean, it's not like I already know who my godly parent is so I'm not sure if it's my dad or mom," Percy said.

Steve grinned broadly, not noticing Percy's strange behaviour. "That's good," he said, "Because the gods always claim their kids within, oh, about four or five hours of their arrival."

Percy blinked. Four or five hours? My dad waited a whole month before saying, "Hey kid! You're my son, have fun saving the world a couple trillion times." Why did these kids get claimed in for or five hours? Man, I wish I was Norse.

Maya, though, was definitely suspicious about them. Marcus Van Detten, helping somebody and leaving a mission out of the goodness of his heart?

Not likely.

She hid her feelings and smiled graciously. "If you all would please follow me, I would be happy to show you- Marcus, why is Nightshade here?" She frowned. What was happening? This day was just getting weirder and weirder.

Marcus shrugged. "Helena didn't want Nightshade with her?" he offered.

Steve's eyes widened. "Was she feeling okay?" he asked in concern. "That's not like her! She loved that wolf."

Percy wondered if this mess could get any messier. "She, uh, er, she wanted to, um, try to finish her mission which I know nothing about by herself! I think. I'm assuming. We can guess. Right, guys?"

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Exactly. Now Maya, I have some very very important things to discuss with Kip. He needs to hear this right now, and I don't have time to hang around and talk about how strange Helena was acting. IS! I meant is, not was, is as in she IS still alive and acting strange, not was." With that, he saluted Maya and said, "See ya around," and then stepped into a shadow and vanished.

Nico blinked. "No way, he can shadow travel too?"

Ella coughed into her hand. "Not too," she corrected. She stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "You don't know who your godly parent is yet, remember?"

He hissed back, "I trying, but acting isn't my thing. Or Percy's or Annabeth's, and definitely not that Marcus guy. Give me a break."

Maya interrupted them and smiled half-heartedly. "Well, I'm sure that we'll get to understand what Marcus had been up to in a little while. I'm sorry about his abruptness; our camp has been a little wary of strangers over the past few years due to certain incidents. I hope that you'll enjoy your stay and have fun, though!"

She turned and started walking down the path with Steve taking up the back of the group. The others came along a little more slowly, keeping their guard up and trying to improve on their acting. Maya kept on talking in a perfect tour guide voice.

"The camp was established in 1972. Odin, the king of the Norse gods, was concerned for his children and wanted them to be safe while they learned about monster fighting and questing. At first there were only a few cabins for the major gods and heroes, but eventually they decided to add a Hel cabin, a Loki cabin, and a few others."

She ducked underneath a low tree branch and pushed it out of the way for those behind her. "During 2012, Camp Asgard went through many major changes and add-ons. There aren't as many Norse monsters as there used to be, and we also had to add some rules to questing. Thankfully, those are the only changes that nobody likes, and the addition of a pool and a wolf stable was greatly appreciated."

Annabeth said, "It sounds wonderful. Where is it?"

Maya grinned, her first real smile since Marcus showed up. "Well," she said, "it is right around this corner."

The group from Camp Half-Blood held their breath as they prepared themselves for the new camp. They were all wondering what it looked like and what the other campers were like, so it was to their great surprise when they quickly rounded the bend in the path and found themselves face-to-face with...

 _ **More next time! ;)**_


End file.
